For Real
by karly05
Summary: Two weeks into her new marriage, Linda Flynn-Fletcher goes down to the kitchen one night for a glass of water. Short 'n' sweet.


**For Real**

Linda woke in the night to the comforting sound of Lawrence snoring lightly beside her. Turning over, she raised herself on one elbow, and watched him sleeping, her knight in shining armor. Who could have imagined that everything would work out so perfectly? Some small part of her had known that he was the one, from the night they had first kissed at the Love Handel concert all those years ago, but then so many things had happened so quickly… That music promoter had seen her face on the big projection screen at the concert and spent two weeks tracking her down, determined to make her his next big discovery. Then, while she was being remade into Lindana, Lawrence's student visa had expired, and he'd gone back to England. She knew now that he had written her letters, but they'd been lost in the heaps of Lindana fan mail, and she'd never seen them. He had given up on her then, convinced that her glamorous new life held no room for him. Their paths had diverged, and led them to other marriages, which had left them both with children – children so precious and wonderful, neither of them could fully regret those first marriages, no matter how painfully they had ended. But that was all in the past, and now, after everything, here they were together again, less than two weeks after exchanging their vows, and Linda Flynn-Fletcher had never been happier in her entire life.

At the moment, however, she was also thirsty. Carefully creeping out of bed, so as not to wake her husband, she stepped into her slippers and slid into her robe, and padded down the stairs to the kitchen. A glass from the cupboard, some ice from the fridge, water from the tap, and she had what she had come for. Drink in hand, she walked to the patio door and looked out on the moonlit back yard. Such a beautiful summer night, Linda thought, as she unlocked the latch and slid open the glass door for a breath of fresh air.

She didn't know what it was that caught her attention, but when she glanced back in the direction of the kitchen, she was surprised by a small, silent shadow, staring up at her.

"Ferb, honey, what are you doing out of bed?" She walked toward him, setting her glass on the end table by the couch. "Did you have a bad dream?"

The little boy shook his head. Linda didn't expect more of an answer from him; Lawrence had told her from the start that his son didn't talk much. Communicating with Ferb could be a bit of a guessing game, but Linda didn't mind that. Between Candace and Phineas, it was sometimes hard to get a word in edgewise, and Ferb's reticence was an appealing contrast.

"Are you feeling sick? I hope you're not coming down with something." She felt his forehead and sighed with relief. "No, you're not warm." Another idea came to her. "Are you hungry? Although I'm not sure how you could be," she laughed, "after you put away those two big slices of meat loaf at dinner. How about some cheese and crackers, and an apple juice?" Linda offered. She moved to close the sliding door to the yard.

"Please don't leave."

His words stopped her in her tracks, and she looked over her shoulder at him, one hand on the door handle. So that was it. Lawrence had told her how things had ended with his first wife, but she hadn't realized how hard it might have hit Ferb; after all, he had been only a baby. Whether or not he remembered, though, he _knew_, and now he looked up at her with anxious eyes.

"Oh, Ferb…" Linda went to him and scooped him up in her arms. "Oh, sweetie, I'm not leaving." She held him tight as he dug his fingers into the sleeves of her robe and clung to her. "Come here," she toted him to the couch and sat down with him on her lap. "I love you, honey, and I love your Dad, and I promise you, I am not going anywhere." She gently ruffled his green hair and gave him a teasing grin. "You are stuck with me, buster, so you had better get used to it!"

In response to this, Ferb blinked, then curled up and burrowed against her. Rocking him slightly, she felt him give a little shudder, then another. He wasn't crying – he was striving with all his might _not_ to cry. "Oh, sweetie, don't do that," Linda warned. "You'll give yourself the-"

"_Hic!_"

"Oh, dear," she patted his back. "Ferb…"

"_Hic! __Hic! __Hic!__"_

The harder he tried to hold back the hiccups, the louder and faster they came. Linda reached for her glass of water on the end table. "Here we go," she helped him hold the glass as he took a drink, then another. With a little effort, the hiccups subsided, and she set aside the water. When he was calm, Linda asked him, "Ferb, can you keep a secret? Just for a little while. We're all going to sit down and talk about this later today, but I don't want Candace and Phineas to know until then, okay?"

Ferb nodded.

"Now that your Dad and I are married," Linda started, then hesitated, wondering how to explain this to a four-year-old. "Well, we want to have some papers drawn up, to make everything legal…" This was far too complicated, she scolded herself, but Ferb was regarding her with a wise and thoughtful look that made her think perhaps he did understand. "That way, we can all be one family, together. The Flynn-Fletcher family," she smiled, enjoying the sound of it. "And then, I'll be your Mom, for real."

Ferb flung his arms around her neck and pulled himself up to bury his face in her hair, then his small, soft voice found her ear. "You already are."

**Author's Note: Second P&F fic! As always, Phineas & Ferb and all related characters, etc., belong to Dr Heinz Doofenshmirtz and Major Francis Monogram - oops, I mean Messrs. Povenmire & Marsh.**


End file.
